


i love owls. don't you?

by YuzuGimlet



Series: soulmates wrist au [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-07
Updated: 2017-03-07
Packaged: 2018-09-30 13:13:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10163771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YuzuGimlet/pseuds/YuzuGimlet
Summary: First, Kuroo found Kenma. And then Iwaizumi found Oikawa. And Bokuto traced the words on his wrist, wondering when he'd find his own soulmate.





	

Bokuto Koutarou, a five year old who tried his best to keep out of trouble, stuck his wrist into his mother’s face. “Mommy! Mommy! Read me my line again?”

His mother laughed and ran her fingers through her son’s soft downy hair. “‘I love owls. Don’t you?’”

Bokuto broke out into giggles. “I do, mommy! I love owls!”

“Your soulmate’s gonna love owls too, sweetie,” his mother said kindly, kissing him on his brow. “Do you want lunch now?”

“Yes please! Without the crust.”

* * *

 

Bokuto Koutarou, a ten year old who loved getting into trouble, traced the words on Kuroo’s wrist. “ _Thank you for the apple pie._ ”

“I wonder how long it’s gonna take for me to find my soulmate,” Kuroo said impatiently. “I wish I could just find her now!”

“We have forever to find our soulmates, bro,” Bokuto said. He ignored his own burning curiosity. Every kid wanted to find their soulmates. The lucky few who found them early in their lives were blessed without having to wait.

Kuroo’s eyes narrowed. “There are a couple kids in the year below us who already found each other. If they’ve found their soulmates already, why can’t we? It’s totally unfair.”

“It’s not like we can tell destiny to hurry up, Kuroo. The best thing to do is to just ignore it all until it happens, you know?” Bokuto’s brow furrowed. “That’s what Mom always tells me, anyways.”

“Well, if one guy can hurry fate, it’s me,” Kuroo said with his mouth set in a firm line.

Bokuto laughed. “I wouldn’t doubt it for a second, dude. Let’s play some video games.”

* * *

 

Bokuto Koutarou, a seventeen year old who got into too much trouble nowadays, embraced Kuroo tightly while laughing loudly. “You’ve found him! Dude, congrats!”

“Kenma, this is my best friend Bokuto,” Kuroo said, patting Bokuto’s back with one hand and holding Kenma’s small hand in the other. His eyes hadn’t left the pudding-head since they’ve run into each other at the bakery. “He’s gonna be my best man at our wedding.”

Kenma hesitated, peeking out from under his hood. “Nice to meet you.”

“You _have_ to show him to Iwaizumi, bro,” Bokuto said, smile stretching a molar more. “I _told_ you you could do it. I knew you’d be able to find your soulmate.” He turned to the smaller man. “You’re a lucky person, Kenma. Kuroo here’s been working in bakeries for like the last three _years_ with the shittiest pay ever just to find you.”

Kenma went pink, and Kuroo went absolutely scarlet. “Bro, don’t tell him that! It’ll make it look like I’m a try-hard!”

Bokuto hugged Kuroo again with the same vigor. “You _are_ a try-hard, bro. That’s why we’re friends.”

Kenma laughed quietly into his shirt sleeve. Kuroo seemed to melt at the sound, like it was all he wanted to hear for the rest of his life. Bokuto’s heart twinged.

* * *

 

Bokuto Koutarou, a twenty-two year old college student who always ended up in trouble, started having his life come apart at a house party.

His grades, although never good, had been plummeting to an abysmal state; his mother’s declining health led to her being more irritable than ever before; and there was a constant, twisting, burning anger in him now that he could never placate completely. 

But whatever. Right now, he just wanted to get drunk and forget about it all. Grades, mom, anger, soulmates—everything. He was on his fifth beer and the party was starting to become a drunken orgy with clothes. Everybody was grinding against everybody on the dance floor.

“Daishou!” Mika squealed as he kissed her deeply.

Suguru just laughed and kissed her again, hands roaming her body.

Bokuto snarled, checking his phone for Kuroo’s reply. Nothing. He had stayed home with Kenma playing Legend of Zelda on the Nintendo Switch, but the least he could do was reply to his text. Bokuto chuckled to himself darkly. He loved Kenma almost as much as Kuroo did, but sometimes he hated how distant his best friend had become.

Must be nice, having a soulmate.

A boy from the year below, Tanaka, ran his fingers through a small blonde girl’s hair and planted a big kiss on her lips that left her flushed.

“DON’T TOUCH YACHI UNTIL YOU’RE MARRIED, RYUU!” Nishinoya bellowed, leaping onto his friend’s back and forcing him away from his soulmate.

Bokuto’s eyes twitched. Good for them. Good for fucking them. They were soulmates and they were going to get married probably as soon as one of them got a stable source of income after they graduated. They’d have kids and be the happiest fucking couple in the world.

Good for them that they’d found each other.

He glanced at Iwaizumi who sat next to him, nine beers in and about to pass out. Iwaizumi laughed weakly,tears forming in his eyes as he gazed at the two destined lovers. His blank-as-a-canvas wrist lay limp on the table, track marks crisscrossing the skin instead of words.

“It’ll be alright, dude,” Bokuto said gruffly, patting his back.

Iwaizumi vomited all over the table

* * *

 

Bokuto Koutarou, a thirty year old man who was too depressed to get into trouble anymore, stared in disbelief.

“He’s… your soulmate?” Bokuto asked quietly.

Iwaizumi nodded, still looking like he didn’t quite believe it himself. “His name’s Oikawa Tooru, and he was a performing violinist at the mall I visited the other day. The reason I have a blank wrist is because Tooru’s mute, so he can’t say his first words to me. But _my_ first words are on his wrist.”

Perhaps the most beautiful man Bokuto had ever seen lifted his sleeve to show him the words. “ _Your performance was better than sliced tofu._ ”

Bokuto pasted on a big smile as always. “Iwaizumi, you bastard. You’ve found your soulmate finally after all that hell you’ve gone through.”

He wrapped his arms around his friend like he’d done for all of his other friends. “I’m proud that you’ve met your soulmate.”

Iwaizumi buried his face in Bokuto’s shoulder. “It’s been hard for you too, Bo. Don’t think I can’t tell when you’re pretending to be happy. But you’ll find your soulmate one day, I promise.”

Bokuto’s eyes welled.

* * *

Bokuto Koutarou, a forty year old man who lived for trouble now, slammed a ten dollar bill with shaking fingers onto the countertop.

The convenience store clerk passed him the box of cigarettes and he tore one out of the pack immediately, lighting it and inhaling.

“No smoking in the store, sir,” he said sharply. “Please leave.”

“Give me my fucking change first,” he snarled, holding out his hands.

Coins clinked and he walked out into the cold December air. He stayed outside, almost freezing in his ratty jacket, just smoking and wanting that burning in him to go away.

He missed Kuroo. He missed Iwaizumi. He missed _all_ of the friends he had left behind, but spending time with the happy couples hurt him. He’d come back after he found his soulmates. But until then, Bokuto Koutarou wasn’t a person anymore.

* * *

 

Bokuto Koutarou, a sixty year old man who couldn’t remember what trouble was anymore, stared out the window of his nursing home.

Last week, Kenma had died. A panic attack led to a heart attack, and then he passed away at age fifty-nine. It was too young. Kuroo had almost shattered, but pieced himself back and was now on a tour around the world.

And Bokuto was alone again.

So he used what life savings he had left to check himself into the nearby nursing home.

Most of the people here were similar to him. Depressed widows or depressed eternal singles. It filled him with a sad satisfaction. Around him stood the owl statues and figurines he had had for ages.

The door to his room opened and he glanced over. His eyes widened.

A man in a wheelchair stood in his doorway. Even with age, no one would be able to deny that he still looked amazing. Curly black hair streaked with white, and one cloudy eye, and smile lines aside, he was _gorgeous_.

He gazed around the room and let out a small chuckle. “I love owls. Don’t you?”

Bokuto nodded once, still shocked how someone could be so flawless. “Kind of a bittersweet memory, but I’ve loved them forever.”

The man’s jaw dropped.

Bokuto blinked. “Wait, what did you say?”

The stranger’s eyes slid down to his own wrist. And then back to Bokuto. He drew in a shaky breath, running his hand through his hair. “Oh my God.”

Bokuto’s heart raced, thudding painfully in his chest. He held up his wrist. “You… love owls.”

“And they’re a bittersweet memory to you,” Akaashi whispered, holding up his wrist to show Bokuto’s words scrawled in _his_ chicken-scratch.

Bokuto choked on his laughter. “I can’t _believe_ …” Tears spilled over, running down leathery, wrinkled cheeks. “Sixty years. It took sixty years to find you.”

Akaashi held up a liver-spotted hand. “My name’s Akaashi Keiji. And I’m sorry it took so long to meet you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Ahh, trying to end my writer's block. Fuck.
> 
> anyhow, hit me up yuzugimlet.tumblr.com if you want to talk about volleyball gays


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